After 16 seasons as an assistant coach, Rick McCarty is ready to lead his own baseball program. He’ll get that chance at Abilene Christian University.

McCarty, 38, was introduced as the Wildcats head baseball coach on Tuesday during a news conference.

McCarty, who spent the last three seasons as the pitching coach at Dallas Baptist, said the timing and place seemed right, after being part of successful turnarounds at Campbell (2011-14) and Louisiana Tech (2015).

“I think the experiences at Campbell and Louisiana Tech, turning around programs that maybe weren’t in the best of places at the time, I think that’s going to pay big dividends for me here,” McCarty said. “Just understanding what it’s like to make those phone calls and what it’s like to kind of start shifting the culture in a different direction.”

But it wasn’t until his previous stop at Dallas Baptist, working with Patriots’ head coach Dan Heefner, that McCarty felt like he finally put together all the pieces needed to be a head coach.

“Working at Dallas Baptist under Coach Heefner has been such a blessing, just watching him, the level of consistency he has and trying to bring some of the attributes from all the guys I’ve worked with here,” McCarty said. “I feel very comfortable and prepared to do that."

Buy Photo

Phil Schubert, Abilene Christian University president, watches Rick McCarty speak with reporters after introducing him Tuesday as the university's new head baseball coach.(Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News)

While at DBU, McCarty was part of a Patriots’ program that won at least 42 games each season and either won or played in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament championship game all three years. DBU also played in an NCAA Division I regional tournament all three seasons, reaching the title game each time. The Patriots (42-21) went 2-2 at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional this past season, battling back from a 9-0 loss to No. 8 Southern Mississippi in the opener to beat Oral Roberts 18-9 and Southern Miss 9-4 before bowing out to No. 4 Arkansas 4-3 in the region final. The Razorbacks went on to earn a College World Series berth.

McCarty, a 2003 Murray State graduate, also has been an assistant at Murray State (2003), Division II Delta State (2004-08) and Southeast Missouri State (2009-10).

During those 16 years, McCarty was part of teams that had a combined 609-321 record, including 23-15 in NCAA tournament play, including four trips to Division I region tournaments. He also won a DII national title while at Delta State in 2004 and went to the DII College World Series in 2005.

Now, the question is, can he parlay that experience into a successful head coaching career?

“So, when you look at that, there’s always that competence level, like, ‘Can I really do this?’ Right,” he said. “As I prayed over it, and we talked about with my wife and the administration. After talking to (ACU President) Dr. (Phil) Schubert, there was a sense of peace there with that. I think I’m ready for sure, and I’m more than excited to get ready.”

Schubert believes McCarty is the right man to take over the ACU baseball program.

“I love the passion for who you are as a man of God to come lead a program, a group of young men, to be better in the context of who God is calling you to be," Schubert said. "I’m also pretty impressed in 15 years of his career, 10 of those seasons he had eight 40-plus wins and two 50-plus (wins). This guy knows how to get it done.”

And after finally setting down and talking with McCarty, Schubert knew McCarty was his man.

“It didn’t take long to know before I knew this is the guy who is going to be next face in our journey at ACU baseball.”

McCarty, who officially begins his duties at ACU on June 20, replaces Britt Bonneau, who resigned May 22 after 22 seasons as the Wildcats head coach.

McCarty takes over an ACU program that hasn’t had a winning season since going 29-24 the Wildcats’ last year as a DII program in 2013. It’s also the last time they had winning conference record (15-13 Lone Star Conference) and went to a postseason conference tournament. ACU, ineligible for conference or NCAA postseason play until this past season, is 85-187 overall and 35-108 in Southland Conference play since making the move to DI.

ACU finished 21-33 this past season – its most wins since 2013. But the Wildcats were 5-25 in Southland play, good for last in the 13-team conference for the second straight year, and didn’t make the Southland’s postseason tournament.

McCarty said he’s excited about the challenge that awaits him in trying to turn around the Wildcat program.

“I’m really fired up about that,” he said. “Something I’ve learned on staffs I’ve been a part of, we want to do more with less. I think going through Campbell and Louisiana Tech, there’s nothing better than proving people wrong. I really enjoy coaching with a chip-on-your-shoulder mentality. When a group of men starts to do that, man, there’s something special about turning things around.”

Dallas Baptist coach Dan Heefner watches as the team takes on Southern Mississippi during an NCAA college baseball tournament regional game June 1 in Fayetteville, Arkansas.(Photo: Ben Goff, AP)

He has been part of successful baseball programs, but he’s never done that as a head coach. So, he couldn’t take all the credit or blame for what happened on the baseball field. Now, the buck will stop with McCarty at ACU.

“I’m going to enjoy it,” he said. “I’m going to embrace it. I know there’s some challenges coming up for sure. I’ve talked to some of the mentors I’ve had. They’re all laughing at me right now, as I’m going through this transition."

“I’m going to have some guys fall back on and some guys I can make some phone calls to, guys who will give me good guidance. I know there’s some tough phone calls coming, and I know there’s some long nights, too.

“I’ve had those as a pitching coach. I think other than the head coach, you’re on that lonely island quite a bit. When you don’t pitch well, then it all falls back to you. When my parents haven’t been successful, then I’ve got to figure out a different way to coach them, right? There’s probably some parallels to being a pitching coach and head coach, so I’m a little bit more prepared.”

McCarty, a Campbellville, Kentucky, native who was a closer at Murray State his last two years as a player, said he’s been tempted with head coaching offers before the ACU job opened up.

He said his alma mater came calling four years ago, while a couple of other programs also sought him out.

“At the time, I just didn’t think it was right,” McCarty said. “We were at really good places. I had just been at Louisiana Tech for a year, and then being at Dallas Baptist, it’s really easy to be comfortable there. I’ll say that. Just with the support and the administration and facilities there. I had a blast there at Dallas.”

In fact, walking away from the Patriots program wasn’t easy for McCarty, who also played college ball at John A. Logan College before transferring to Murray State.

“That was tough,” McCarty said. “When you’re used to winning 40 games a year, you want to win. That’s also my desire to get back to that level.”

And McCarty can’t wait to do that at ACU.

“You just want each player you coach to have that experience,” McCarty said. “That’s what’s going to drive us daily. You just want to pour into them and let them have a really good experience. I think I have 20 seniors who are coming back this year. I know they went through the transition period. We want to send them out on a great note, one of which they feel like, ‘Hey, man, I was part of the class that got ACU moving in the right direction.’

“You want each player to have those regional-type experiences. I just left Fayetteville with those 12,000 people calling the hogs last week. We got beat 4-3, and it was a powerful experience. Everybody needs that experience through college baseball. I hope we can do that here, and I think we can.”